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City council: Jason Bartholomay

There are three reasons I am the most qualified candidate for city council: 1. I am an experienced business consultant that has success improving the efficiency of medium and large companies. I have been successful in my profession by being able to correct deficiencies and inefficiencies in these organizations. 2. I have actively followed our city government for several years and know of many areas that can be corrected which will result in an immediate positive impact for our residents. 3. I will bring a fresh perspective from outside government to find new ways to make our government work better for us.

What do you like about Farmington? What would you change?

My family and I chose to live in Farmington because it has a close-knit small town feel that is near the metro area. Preserving this charm is very important to me.

I would change the spending habits of our government. We need to be responsible with taxpayers' money and not waste it on issues that do not improve the quality of life for the residents of the city. We do not need to be $40 million in debt to make our city great. City government has not been successful in serving our residents effectively. They haven't done the due diligence that is needed to make quality spending decisions.

I will be more effective and responsive to our residents. I will actively encourage our community to be part of the spending decisions the city makes.

What is the role of city council in attracting development?

City council is the representative of Farmington's residents. It needs to actively advocate for those residents by developing relationships with businesses and developing policies that promote economic development of our city. It is the job of city council to spur this development and guide it to maintain its small town charm. It needs to be aligned with its residents and making decisions that are in their interest for today and into the future.

What are the essential services the city of Farmington offers, and would you be willing to make cuts to those services if necessary?

Farmington must keep its first class police and fire departments well trained and equipped. However, city council must work closer with the senior leadership of our public safety departments to eliminate redundancies and overlap that waste capital. We need to reevaluate our vehicle maintenance programs and fleet turnover. If there is waste in these services, I am willing to make cuts.

If you could address just one issue, what would it be, and why?

The one issue I would address is our debt. It is unacceptable for our city's government to mortgage our financial health for immediate gain. Our ability to make decisions in the future will be extremely hampered by the debt our current government is taking out. It based its assumptions on the faulty logic that home values would continue to rise at an unrealistic rate and thus increase its property tax income. This logic was a failure of our government. If I was in office, these assumptions would not have been allowed to be part of the decision-making. Fiscal decision-making needs to be rooted in fact and logic, not in emotion and gut feelings.

Debt reduction must be a priority of our government and I intend to be a champion of this. Taxpayers will have an ally with me on city council.